Letters to Lin
by Kethrom
Summary: Korra is dead and Lin's trying to pick up the pieces. Starts Lin/Korra but eventually Lin/Asami.
1. Chapter 1

Letters To Lin (Part 1)

Notes: I generally don't write to publish. So don't expect this to be remotely good. Also this is unbeta'd, I got impatient. This is also on my tumblr page so feel free to visit that, link is in my profile.

Pairings: Lin/Korra, Lin/Asami (later)

Rating: Sad. Probably K/T because there's death? It'll probably be upped to M eventually because of smut.

Word Count: 1499

Description: Korra is dead and Lin's trying to pick up the pieces.

Lin always assumed she would be the first to die. Being 33 years her lover's senior, it seemed to be a predictable, inevitable, definite reality that young Korra would have to face eventually. But there Lin Beifong stood, staring at the lifeless body of her lover. _An accident_. Lin ran over the words hundreds of times in her head, trying to make sense of it all. But that is what Tenzin had said, and Lin couldn't understand how Korra could be so careless.

After all they had been through the last 23 years, their time still seemed too short. They had been through hell and back together. Lin fought side by side with the Avatar until Korra forced her to retire after a near fatal run-in with rogue bloodbenders. She did end up retiring after some significant bitching; becoming a metal bending teacher at her mother's bending school. Korra was still stubborn as ever, but that's something Lin liked about her. Although she still had issues with acting before thinking, she had developed into a strong, beautiful woman as well as a highly decorated Avatar. But this time, her major flaw became her downfall.

After the crowds had dispersed, all who remained were Asami and Lin. Asami decided to give Lin space but stayed close; her best friend's lover was too distraught to be left alone. Lin started mumbling when she thought everyone had gone and sank to her knees at Korra's grave stone.

"Korra, why? Why this way… Why? I am over 70 years old… You were so young and had so much more life to live… Spirits, why didn't you take me… Why..."

Asami had never seen the former Chief so emotional, she hadn't even heard Korra mention any time Lin had cried. But she did cry with Korra. Korra was the only one that Lin allowed to see her weak side after the passing of her mother. Not even Tenzin had really seen Lin break down. She preferred to have a strong front with the public and with her peers, but her lover had seen through the strength and eventually, Lin's walls began to crumble with the Avatar. It had taken Korra many years to get through to the metal bender, but when she did, the only thing Lin made her promise was that she would tell _no one._ "Especially," she added, "Ms. Asami Sato, are we clear, Korra?"

After her mumbling had quieted down, Asami had thought Lin had fallen asleep. As she approached the former chief, she noticed Lin was just staring at the name on the headstone. She was in a trance, no one could know just how conflicted Lin was feeling. Asami thought that she was probably too distraught to sense her with her earth bending.

Suddenly, Asami was shaken from her reverie when Lin cried out, "You said you'd never leave me! You promised, you swore it! And I believed you… I beli-" She was cut off by her own sobs. She doubled over, heaving. All of her muscles hurt from crying so hard, she hadn't even been this upset when her mother died. No, this was far worse. Her mother had lived out her many years and died a content old woman. But Korra, no, Korra barely got the chance to even get out of the prime of her life. _It isn't fair. It isn't fucking fair._

Korra had prepared though. No matter what, she was prepared with one final thing for Lin. Asami had initially suggested to a mere twenty two year old Korra that she write a "just in case" letter, at least to Lin. It took Korra weeks to finally get it exactly how she wanted. She had updated the letters every year, sometimes even more so. Asami kept every letter in a safe at Future Industries, just in case the day arrived where Korra would no longer be there to write them to Lin.

Tenzin had come back to gather Lin from the grave, putting a firm hand on Asami's shoulder, silently thanking her for watching after Lin as he escorted his children and grandchildren back to the temple. He looked on at Lin with sad eyes, almost at a loss for words; it was really the first time Tenzin had seen Lin like this as well. As he walked over to her, she was suddenly hyper aware of her surroundings. She tried to gather herself, but puffy red eyes gave her away… Not that she cared. She looked up at Tenzin, still standing there and whispered, "I never thought I'd have to face loss like this."

After the former police chief had made it safely onto Air Temple Island, Asami went back to the apartment Lin and Korra shared in Republic City. As she walked through the streets, she marveled at all the work the Avatar and the metal bender had done to improve the city. Public works projects, bending schools, chi blocking schools, non-bender refuge shelters… There was no doubt in her mind that Korra and Lin would have their own respective statues cast over Republic City in the coming years.

Asami slipped into the Beifong's apartment, carefully picking out some things for Lin to wear and keep at Air Temple Island for the next few weeks. She volunteered to go, Tenzin was far too old to keep going out and Lin was still a mess.

After she had gotten all she needed for Lin, she headed over to Future Industries to grab the box of letters Korra had left for her. It was sort of heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Asami found Lin picking at dinner at the Temple. She really only had pushed the food around on her plate, not really in the mood to really eat anything. When Lin excused herself, Asami followed. Lin was only a few doors from her own when she whipped around and snapped, "What do you want Sato? You've been following me around all fucking day, and I'm really not that helpless. I may be old as the rock, but I don't need a babysitter!"

Asami didn't get defensive, she knew this was only the hurt distraught Lin talking. _Wait, that means she knew I was there at the cemetery… Why didn't she-. _Lin snorted and Asami broke from her thoughts: she would ponder this later. Without responding, Asami walked over to Lin and handed her the box of letters she had been keeping for her.

Lin looked up quizzically at her, but took the box with a nod of acknowledgement. Her features softened, and she looked like she just regretted lashing out at the non bender. Without another word, Lin turned on her heel and continued to her room.

_Lin,_

_I guess if you're reading this, something bad has probably happened. And I'm probably not around to tell you this myself anymore, but first and foremost, I want to say I'm sorry. Whatever happened in the wake of my death, just know that I tried everything in my power to prevent this. I could never leave you like that. You became my world long ago, and I hope you realize how much I wanted to spend eternity with you. _

_Soon, we will be reunited in the spirit world. Remember that- we won't be apart long. _

_All of my love,_

_Korra Beifong_

A light knock brought Lin back to reality and she used her metalbending to unlock the door. Asami took this as an invitation in, but what she saw shocked her. Lin was standing in the middle of the room, her arms slumped and defeated as she read the last and most recent letter in the box. After Lin finished, she carefully placed it back in its rightful place and walked to the window, staring out at the statue of Uncle Aang. Asami walked behind her and hugged her waist. Lin stiffened, but soon relaxed. She mumbled into Lin's back, "It looked like you needed this…" Lin only leaned into the embrace, trying desperately to control her tears in front of the younger woman. Asami finally spoke up again, "I kept every year's letter in this box for you. If you had died first though, Korra and I would have buried this with you so that you could perhaps try to read them in the spirit world…" this brought on a fresh wave of emotions in the weakened chief. Asami too was having a hard time keeping her own emotions in check, she heaved as she said, "Spirits Lin… I'm so sorry." Asami let the tears she had been holding back flow freely, and the older woman turned around in the hug and let her own tears slide down her face. Asami choked as she said, "I… I really loved her. No- not like you, but I loved her. She was the only family I had after- my father-". Lin just held her tighter.

TO BE CONTINUED.


	2. Chapter 2

Letters To Lin (Part 2)

Notes: I generally don't write to publish. So don't expect this to be very good either… Special shoutout to MariahCherry for beta-ing.

Pairings: Lin/Korra, Lin/Asami (later)

Rating: Sad. Probably K/T because there's death? It'll probably be upped to M eventually because of smut.

Word Count: 1366

Description: Korra is dead and Lin's trying to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Days turned to weeks, months turned into a whole year without Korra. The search was ongoing for the new avatar. Things got easier, but not by much. There was plenty of damage control that had to be done in the wake of Avatar Korra's death, especially with the extreme circumstances. Carelessness had always been one of Korra's PR problems, and this outcry from the public was turning into a nightmare.

Lin did as much damage control as she could, but it was getting overwhelming. She had started spend more and more time out of the public eye and increasingly more time locked up in her mother's bending school perfecting her new found skills in bending purer metals, such as platinum. She didn't spend much time with her friends anymore and instead had turned to venting her hurt and anger onto a few undeserving students in the form of uncharacteristically harsh criticism. Lin had been once a very encouraging teacher, although hard, she always had some form of positive reinforcement for her students. A skill she had picked up from Korra and Tenzin when she started to teach fulltime.

The only person Lin would talk to on a regular basis was Asami, and that was more or less because Asami forced her to. She would show up every day at different times to just check in on Lin, sometimes merely just standing there watching in awe of her bending. At first, Lin had rejected all the attention from Asami aside from pleasant formalities, but Asami's insistence had found its way into Lin's heavily guarded heart. She slowly started to open up about how she was feeling, which rarely ever was something very great, but surprisingly, it felt good to tell those things to Asami. They found comfort in each other's sadness and finally, Lin started to relax around her, much to Asami's relief.

Asami and Korra had always watched out for Lin, and they both feared that if something happened to Korra that Lin would do exactly this- cut herself off from everyone and become increasingly disgruntled. Lin had lost a lot in her life, but what made these things different from losing Korra was preparation; she was prepared to lose Sokka, her mother, even Uncle Aang, but she wasn't prepared to lose was Korra. So instead, the two prepared for Lin. Between the letters and Korra's insistent badgering of Asami to make it a point to check up on Lin as much as possible without seeming like a nuisance, it seemed like it would all work out.

* * *

Lin had since moved back to their, scratch that, _her_ apartment, but not much had changed on the inside since _she_ died. The bedroom remained vacant, still holding too many memories of times once had, and times that would never happen. The bed was unmade, and most of the stuff had not moved, with the exception of some of Lin's clothes, her uniform, and the space sword that Korra had returned to Lin for her birthday.

* * *

_Flashback: _

_Korra had been coming home exhausted, and recently was taking many "secretive" missions. She would be gone for long periods of time and never tell Lin anything about the expeditions. After a few months of this nonsense, Lin was convinced Korra was cheating on her with someone. It was the only reasonable explanation for why Korra had been so distant. The truth was far from what Lin could've imagined; Korra was exhausted due to a quite different problem. She had heard about Sokka's famed sword since she was little. After Sokka had died, his sword went to Toph, then was passed onto Lin. Lin had kept the sword safely in her apartment on display until a curator asked if his museum could use it in a travelling expedition for the next two years. Although Lin hated to part with it, they had ensured the swords safe return. She should've known better. In the last month of the expedition, they were ambushed by raiders and the sword was taken, its whereabouts were unknown. Lin was crushed by the news that the sword from the only father she ever knew was gone, probably never to surface again. _

_Katara had taken a young Korra to see it once when she was very little and she could never forget what a beautiful and powerful presence it held. The sword meant so much to Lin, and Korra knew it. Lin had mentioned it a few times in passing, but this year Korra was determined to find it and return it to its rightful owner. And if all things worked out, she would have it back by Lin's birthday. _

_Korra walked into the apartment making a bee-line to the bedroom, where Lin was reading an old metal-bending book propped up against the headboard. It was late, way too late for Korra to be out doing normal things. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were all wrinkled and she looked exhausted. Lin didn't know that she had just travelled several hours to the Fire Nation, where the current Fire Lady, Ursa, had found and kept the sword for Korra to pick up. Things were getting hostile again in the Fire Nation, so Ursa had beckoned Korra to come sooner, rather than later so that the sword would not be lost again._

_"Where have you been this time, Korra?" Lin looked up at the Avatar, her mind in full police interrogation mode. Lin was getting impatient, if Korra was cheating and going to leave her, she might as well have had the courtesy to end things with Lin quickly instead of drawing it out. _

_"Nowhere… Avatar stuff." Lin could feel she was lying, she knew it. Korra was having an affair. Probably with that _Sato_ girl. _

_"Who the fuck is it then, Korra? Which pretty woman are you fucking around with? Is it Asami? Or that pretty waterbender that you've been training in your spare time? _

_Korra had been caught off guard by the outburst, her own defensiveness getting the best of her as she said a bit too forcefully, "No, no one. I haven't been sleeping around Lin!" _

_That's all Korra had to say before Lin got up from bed and pointed to the door, "Lying too? Sheesh, I thought you knew that I could tell if you were lying, with or without my earth bending! How stupid do you think I am Korra? You can go sleep with that other woman, because you are no longer welcome here. It's over." _

_Korra tried to retort, but she knew she wasn't going to win without the goddamn sword. Korra walked out of the apartment to Naga and ushered the polar bear dog to run as fast as she could to Future Industries. Luckily, Asami had trusted her with the company completely, so getting in and to the safe room where she had stashed the sword earlier that evening was easy. _

_Korra had not even opened the door fully when Lin yelled, "Get the fuck out of my apartment!" She looked like she had been crying. She was sitting on the couch, metalbending her mother's space bracelet into various shapes to keep her mind off what Korra had said, or rather, what she hadn't said. Korra stood her ground until Lin looked up. Her eyes must have been tricking her, because it looked like Korra held a sword. But she could feel it, she could feel the familiar presence of Sokka that it radiated, she could feel the metals liveliness. She shook her head as her eyes began to tear up again, this time for a completely different reason. Lin stood up and walked to Korra, who also was starting to cry again as Lin's arms carefully wrapped around her. Lin leaned down to Korra's ear and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you." _

_Korra stepped back, handing Lin Sokka's sword and shakily said, "I was saving this for your birthday." Lin just shushed her by a tender kiss. The metalbender rested her forehead on the Avatars and stared into Korra's eyes. "I know," she murmured and leaned down to kiss Korra again. _

_/End Flashback_


	3. Chapter 3

Letters To Lin (Part 3)

Notes: So here's part 3, I have had this story on my tumblr blog (link in bio) for a while now, still working on new parts, but here, enjoy these first three chapters at least... Also, feedback is always appreciated... Thank you for reading!

Again, I generally don't write to publish. So don't expect this to be very good either… Special shoutout again to MariahCherry for beta-ing.

Pairings: Lin/Korra, Lin/Asami (later)

Rating: Sad. Probably K/T because there's death? It'll probably be upped to M eventually because of smut.

Word Count: 2147

Description: Korra is dead and Lin's trying to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Lin sat by the grave stone in a reverent kneeling position. Talking to Korra had become a weekly ritual, and sometimes Korra's spirit would visit Lin in her dreams. Having the Avatar as your wife had its perks. Lin could still use her earth sense to feel Korra's skeleton far beneath the earth, but she knew the spirit of her wife was safe with all the previous Avatars, as well as her mom, Uncle Zuko, Aunt Azula, Aunt Ty Lee, Uncle Aang and countless other members of her extended family in the spirit world.

Korra was the first to breach the subject of Asami. It was actually Korra's idea that Asami and Lin get together. It was confusing and a bit awkward at first, but she had started to talk Korra about her feelings towards Asami.

"I just don't know Korra, I don't know if I could love someone as much as I loved you…"

"Lin, you have a good heart. You just surround it by metal and don't let many inside. You let me inside and I got to see so much more than you show. You're a strong woman Lin, I know that, everyone knows that. But you're also very caring, something only a few realize…"

She sat silent. Korra was right, but she wasn't willing to admit that. Instead, Lin's mind drifted to other things. Like how her feelings towards Asami had evolved over the year. Not too long ago, Lin would've never even considered trying to pursue anything with her, but a lot had changed, including her perception of the woman. Asami and Korra had been best friends for a long time, and Lin mostly only knew Asami through that. It was only a recent thing that they had started to get close.

She thought at first that it was just simple lust, a convenient solution to a slightly growing need within Lin. Asami was younger, fit and had an unnatural wisdom beyond her years. Her eyes, her pale green eyes had enticed many a businessman into doing exactly what she wanted for a corporate deal. It wasn't a secret that plenty of men and women alike wanted to bed the woman for varying reasons, ranging from blackmail to pure animalistic desire.

And then she had come to really know the woman. Asami had always come to the gym or dropped by Lin's apartment to check in, at first Lin saw this as a nuisance but eventually she started looking forward to her little drop-ins. After months of trying, Lin had started to open up to the non-bender. Nowadays, there were very few things Lin didn't feel comfortable talking to Asami about. And there was also that added bonus recently where Asami had started to wear less and less clothing to combat the warm weather… Lin was brought away from her thoughts when Korra asked, "What were you thinking about?"

"I think I… Like her."

Korra quirked an eyebrow and teasingly asked, "So what do you like about her exactly?"

"She's charming… And she's been trying with me; she comes every damn day to talk. I don't mind it like I used to… And she is umm… quite intriguingly attractive." Her face flushed thinking of Asami's most recent outfit, something that didn't leave too much to the imagination.

"Ah come on Lin, admit it, she's hot."

"Yes, yes she is..." And Lin looked away, settling into another comfortable silence with Korra.

As much as Lin wanted to pursue something more, she still wasn't so sure. Korra had been an exception to the rule. This was new, it would be different, and it could possibly change her relationship with Korra. The last thing Lin wanted was Korra to feel like she was forgotten. Korra insisted that this wasn't the case; she really just wanted Lin to be happy.

"But, what will happen to her when I too die? Or what especially will happen when we both die and you are caught in the middle?" She had asked.

"We'll figure it out then up here… You know how I've always wanted a threesome with Asami anyway…" Lin scowled and Korra simply chuckled, "As for Asami, she's strong. And she won't have to live without either of us long. "

"Does that mean… She'll die young too?"

"I can't tell you either way, but if what Aang said is true… Trust me when I say it'll be okay."

"How can I? I trusted you with so much yet you still were stupid and chose to put yourself in mortal danger, just to end up dead and-"

"I admit it was a mistake, and I'm so terribly sorry, I didn't realize it-"

"You sure as hell didn't think! And you left in such a hurry, I was so worried. Then Tenzin comes to my gym, interrupts my lesson and tells me _you died…" _She had to take a deep breath to calm herself from the memory and continued, "I couldn't even stop shaking; I ended up creating an earthquake in Republic City from how upset I was."

"I know… I know my big ol' badgermole… I saw it… And I didn't have enough time to practice this in between worlds stuff with Aang here before I saw you break down completely. I saw everything, and I just wished I could be there to comfort you, you were a complete mess..." Lin shuttered, thinking about the emptiness she felt that day. An emptiness that made her go completely numb; it was worse than losing her bending so many years ago. Korra wished she could hug Lin, who was starting to get upset again. Both women's tears were falling; Lin let them linger and Korra tried to wipe her own up as best as she could. "Just trust me again, please."

"I do," she whispered.

"That's my girl." Korra said rather enthusiastically, trying to ignore the pain she was feeling reliving the memory of the day she hurt Lin the most, "Now go back to the school before those children start bending the pillars and bring the building down!"

And with that, Lin smirked and stood, giving Korra a tiny wave before walking calmly back to her school.

* * *

Korra had always known that Asami had some more than friendly feelings towards the Chief. They had talked about them a lot over the years as it had grown stronger, but Asami insisted it was fine and she would be content just being the couple's friend. Korra, going beyond the initial letters to Lin, left a couple letters for Asami as well. They varied in length, but mostly recalled fun times they had together, told her that she loved her best friend and had different words of reassurance that Aang had told her before about things working out no matter what. They also reminded Asami to check up on Lin every few days, something that had not been a problem seeing as she felt a need to be near her.

Recently, Asami's feelings had taken a turn for the worse. They were growing stronger, and Lin was probably blissfully unaware in her own world. She needed to be near Lin, because if she wasn't, she'd end up thinking about her until she did go to see the older woman. It was getting rather annoying, although she couldn't berate herself for loving such an incredible bender. Lin had so much more to her than she had realized, and Korra was right: she was special. No, beyond special; she was beyond incredible. And it was no wonder that Asami had fallen so hard.

Asami sat timidly in the Future Industries CEO suite, holding the last letter from Korra. It had handwritten instructions on the envelope stating that it was not to be opened until at least six months after her death. Asami couldn't find the courage to open it up until now, nearly a year and a half after Korra had gone. She sighed as she tore open the top delicately and read the contents. It was a simple note that read,

"_Go for Lin. She needs someone, and I know you will too. You have my approval. – Korra" _

She swelled with confidence as she stood up to grab the keys to her car before heading over to see Lin.

* * *

This day seemed like any other to Asami, and with her new found assurance from the note, she drove over to the school. She found that Lin was getting ready to leave when she decided to pop in for her daily visit. Lin was in a rare good mood today; Asami had no idea that this was due to Lin having stopped by Korra's grave earlier that morning. She greeted the non-bender without turning around. Lin continued to put away the various metals around the gym as Asami started getting lost in her own thoughts about the Chief. Finally, Lin turned around and gave a big smile to Asami. It was a bit out of character, Asami noticed this and teased, "Seems like someone's happy today, what's going on, who are you and what did you do to the real Lin Beifong?"

Lin chuckled, "Right here, in the flesh." She paused for a second, contemplating whether or not she wanted to show Asami this new found breakthrough in her bending. She turned around and saw the non-bender leisurely sitting on one of the battered wooden chairs in the corner. All hesitation dismissed, she asked, "Want to see something cool?"

Asami jumped at the anticipation of what Lin was going to show her, and said a bit too enthusiastically, "Yes!" Lin walked to the center of the room and placed a piece of shiny metal about the size of a fist onto the floor. She explained, "This is platinum, I've been working for years to figure out how to properly bend such a pure metal, but I think I've got it."

Asami leaned forward in her chair to get a better look. She watched Lin's muscles move under the slightly dirty wife-beater she wore as she walked away from the cube. Asami was shaken from her reverie when Lin took her familiar earth bending stance and stomped her foot on the ground to get a sense of exactly where everything and everyone was, just so they wouldn't interrupt her concentration later. Luckily, she was the last in the gym, aside from Asami. Lin then artfully manipulated her arms and punched forward before slowly lifting her arm. The platinum cube moved with her arm, lurching forward and then lifting with her movements. Asami stared in awe, her heart swelled with affection and feelings of being proud of the breakthrough. "_This is exactly what had held Lin and her benders back so many years before when my father sabotaged them… But here she is, manipulating the metal that was once seen as too pure to bend. Lin's doing the impossible again, just like her mother…"_ She smiled slightly at the thought and watched as Lin placed the metal back onto the ground.

Lin, with a new sheen of sweat, sat down on the floor. Asami rushed over, fearing that Lin may have hurt herself but was met with the chief's signature grin. She lightly punched the bender's arm before extending her own to help Lin get up. Lin had bounced up faster than Asami had expected and she tumbled backwards, just to be caught by the hip by Lin and pulled close. Lin could hear Asami's heartbeat quicken at the contact, which sent a familiar rush throughout her body, something she hadn't experienced since Korra. '_Too close, too close' _Asami's mind shouted. Asami made a move to step back, but Lin held her steady. '_Don't look into her eyes. Shit, don't do it.'_ But against her better judgment, she looked down into the metal bender's pale jade eyes. Asami couldn't control herself; she bent forward and lightly kissed Lin's mouth. Lin didn't respond right away, which caused Asami to feel rejected and stupid, _'No shit, she's probably still trying to recover from losing Korra and here I go and fuck all that recovery up and-'_ She moved back from the embrace in order to try and escape from this huge misjudgment. But what happened next had surprised Asami, Lin lurched forward and grabbed Asami's neck with one hand to recapture the kiss while her other hand continued to hold the non-bender by the hip securely. Asami wrapped her hands in Lin's hair to deepen the kiss and Lin responded with vigor and need. Finally, the two broke apart, both of them panting as well as both filled to the brim with varying feelings. They had relaxed into a hug and finally the non-bender murmured into Lin's shoulder, "That was… that was incredible, Lin."

The bender asked confidently, "The bending or the kiss?"

"Both."


End file.
